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Thursday, March 23, 2017

On Sunday, "hieleras" (ice coolers) were discovered containing dismembered remains. The grisly contents were discarded in the
heart of the tourist section of the popular vacation destination of Cabo San
Lucas (Baja California Sur). Marking the first such violence in the tourist area.

The remains of two male
and one female have not been identified.

On March 3 and 4, six
bodies were found in an area close to Cabo San Lucas.
An uptick in violence in the region has been noted in the last five
months, near the tourist areas, but the Sunday find, the first that hit the
heart of the tourism area.

On
Thursday March 3 and Friday March 4th

Thursday:

A female body found on
a desolate area leading to the airport.

3 Bodies, all male, discovered shrouded in
plastic and covered with a tarp found in San Jose del Cabo. Bodies revealed signs of torture

Friday:

Two bodies, a male and a
female, were found near airport. Both
bodies had bullet impacts

Although there is a
notable increase in violence and homicides in the area, the crime rate in Cabo
tourist areas remains extremely low, even by U.S. standards.

The uptick began 2 ½ years
ago, and is the result of conflict for plaza control between cartels. La Paz
has carried the bulk of the violence. Read more on the conflict between the Cartels
of Sinaloa, Beltran Leyva Organization in a de facto alliance with Ismael
"El Mayo" Zambada and Los Zetas, and the Arellano Felix Organization,
fighting for La Paz, where the bulk of the violence is. Link here to Otis’ post on the subject.

Cabo San Lucas has consistently
been one of the safest travel destinations in Mexico, and is rated one of the
top 10 places to visit in Mexico. It is
the number 1 on the west coast.

In 2016 there was a dramatic
decrease in American homicides in Mexico.
There were a total of 75, with 28 occurring in Chihuahua.

Homicides
of Americans in Los Cabos Region

According to the U.S. State Department, in 10 years, the years of 2006-2016, a total of 3 homicides
against Americans in the Los Cabos region occurred (see highlighted area on map). The homicides were 3 in
total, with 1 in three separate years, 2014, 2015, and one in 2016.

From Baja Insider: “The first two months of 2017 saw Los Cabos (refer to map to see full cabos area) become the homicide capital of Baja California Sur. In one week more than 37
cartel executions took place in the state, but virtually transparent to
visitors and residents, as they were discovered as body drops. The following week
200 Federal Police were brought into the state. One attack on a suspected
cartel member's home involved the use of a 50mm grenade launcher.

March 12 saw the year's
first open gun battle to be witnessed by travelers when a suspect was being
apprehended in a major Los Cabos resort. Visitors scurried for cover as a chase
by federal police resulted in gunfire in the lobby. The event made national and
international news and will be a black eye for the Los Cabos tourist industry.”

The U.S. Department of
State warns U.S. citizens about the risk of traveling to certain parts of
Mexico due to the activities of criminal organizations in those areas. U.S.
citizens have been the victims of violent crimes, including homicide,
kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery in various Mexican states. This Travel
Warning replaces the Travel Warning for Mexico, issued April 15, 2016.Gun battles between rival
criminal organizations or with Mexican authorities have taken place on streets
and in public places during broad daylight. The Mexican government dedicates
substantial resources to protect visitors to major tourist destinations and has
engaged in an extensive effort to counter criminal organizations that engage in
narcotics trafficking and other unlawful activities throughout Mexico. There is
no evidence that criminal organizations have targeted U.S. citizens based on
their nationality. Resort areas and tourist destinations in Mexico generally do
not see the level of drug-related violence and crime that are reported in the
border region or in areas along major trafficking routes.U.S. government
personnel are prohibited from patronizing casinos, sportsbooks, or other
gambling establishments in the states of Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas,
Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Jalisco, Colima, and
Nayarit. Kidnappings in Mexico
take the following forms:Traditional: the victim
is physically abducted and held captive until a ransom is paid for release.Express: the victim is
abducted for a short time and commonly forced to withdraw money, usually from
an ATM, then released.Virtual: an
extortion-by-deception scheme where a victim is contacted by phone and coerced
by threats of violence to provide phone numbers of family and friends, and then
isolated until the ransom is paid. Recently, hotel guests have been targets of
such "virtual" kidnapping schemes.U.S. citizens have been
murdered in carjacking and highway robberies, most frequently at night and on
isolated roads. Carjackers use a variety of techniques, including roadblocks,
bumping/moving vehicles to force them to stop, and running vehicles off the
road at high speeds. There are indications that criminals target newer and
larger vehicles, but drivers of old sedans and buses coming from the United
States are also targeted. U.S. government personnel are prohibited from
intercity travel after dark in many areas of Mexico. U.S. citizens should use
toll roads (cuotas) whenever possible. In remote areas, cell phone coverage is
limited or non-existent.The Mexican government
has deployed federal police and military personnel throughout the country as
part of its efforts to combat organized criminal groups. U.S. citizens
traveling on Mexican roads and highways by car or bus may encounter government
checkpoints, staffed by military or law enforcement personnel. In some places,
criminal organizations have erected their own unauthorized checkpoints, at
times wearing police and military uniforms, and have killed or abducted
motorists who have failed to stop at them. You should cooperate at all
checkpoints.

Personally I would
still not hesitate to visit Cabo. I
would be much more hesitant in doing so with respect to Northern Baja, T.J,
Playa del Rosarito etc. However,
security/insecurity is fluid in Mexico, with warring between cartels providing
an ever changing landscape. Be aware, “know
before you go”, keep current with warnings, even reading regional news, contact
your embassy for the up to date information.
Share your itinerary with the embassy, and a trusted person at
home. There are many tips available on line,
including at www.state.travel.gov and using this link. https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/mexico-travel-warning.html.

Well if he owns all of Mexico. He better make sure his goons. Don't start fucking with American tourist. Just saying. There's a crazy guy running the country next door and shit can get heavy on his drug game really fast.

Mencho is hiding in the sierra all paranoid because of all the Meth he's snorting. His people kidnap gente humilde and take them to him so they could kiss the top of his hand like they would to La Tuta. Once they kiss his hand he releases them.

I just came back from there a few hours. A lot of military in the night. Night life was cracken tho, college town resemblance. No heavy drug activity except the typical walker bys. This story adds too much sauce

Mencho's probably dead . a bunch of tweakers is what his people are. The rest of the cartels are scum for selling ice to their own people. In juarez there is nothing but tweakers walking around. It wasnt like that before. Its always been bad but didn't have ice everywhere before. El valle De juarez is super tweaked out. Sad. Sicarios now days are a bunch of tweakers. Especially in juarez. This whole comment was kind of off subject but whatever. I think ice plays a big part into senseless killings. Meth heads will do anything for their precious ice...especially with the purity down there...sad

which hotel and which cabo? cabo is a region. My niece and her friends just spent 10 days there and were not told that. let me know which hotel so I can check it out. We have a BB fan in Cabo that runs a travel agency.....

Chivis, I skipper a yacht in San Jose, the hassle is all on the Mexicans. The crime threat to gringos is almost nil.(except the late night rambler, drunk outside El Toro Bravo).Don't misunderstand-- what I'm saying is that the victims of crime are the Mexican citizens.

Tourism feeds crime even if tourists are not the direct victims, the only people that receive big bucks from tourism are the rich that own it all. Boycott all of mexico, it is the least we can do to pay back a criminal society that do not respect the mexican people.

Here I am, your friend in cabo. Its been too long since we've spoken. I miss you! I read what you write and dont agree with all of it. There were no gun shots fired in the lobby, the guy was apprehended without a weapon. He tossed it. The targets have all been narcitos, its between them. Unfortunately a police chase ended up close to the hyatt. I have to be careful I dont sugar coat things - otherwise I lose my cred. We have crime between narcitos here we never had before out in the poorer neighborhoods for sure. What has changed? We dont do community service in those neighborhoods. But now, I can still say cabo is safe. I'm not afraid to be here and dont know anyone who is. I have some other info I'd rather not post - email me! And to the person who posted that just the rich benefit from tourism, thats just false. We have 110 employees who pay their bills with money earned from tourism. We are one of hundreds.

Disagree. We were in san jose for two months. February and March. Felt safe until last 2 weeks when we were sitting by the pool and heard the rapid gun fire at the Hyatt Ziva only 500 metres away. Since then we there was 3 incidents of gun fire within the same proximity and even closer. One resulting in a death and an American tourist injured. We were at a bar having beers and gun fire broke out in the street outside the establishment. The patrons took shelter in the bathroom of the bar. This was at 1 in the afternoon. All of this activity took place in the hotel zone or in or near town square. Hoping it is over now.

Tj isn't even safe. Took a taxi from the border to the Red zone and he started to go a different route I wasn't familiar with. He told me he had to pick something in Spanish. I didn't have a good feeling with this pendejo, jumped out and ran like crazy at the first traffic light.

... Was There Thursday And Friday To Bury My Grandpa ... Stayed At Ticuana Hotel By Las Pulgas And Walked Down The Strip With No Issues ... Ended Up Walking Down To The Red Zone So My Cousin Could See That Side ... No, We Did Not Enter The Big A, Hong Kong Or Any Other Strip Club ... Tijuana Is Safe To Visit I Would Say ...

8:55 at least if they kidnap you you don't pay the taxi.Pool your money and set up Adeltas style congales on the US side, I can't believe you are so strapped for cash you can't afford the Chicken Ranches around Reno, las Vegas or some other city in the US, or ask for the side dishes in fake nail shops or massage parlors or chinese laundromats...Only american side broke ass narcos go to mexico for fun to became next day Menudo or Pendejo Carniasadas.Too expensive getting rid of the lice that way.

I'm white and have gone to tj at least once a week for over a decade now. I used to walk across the boarder daily to use Chiva and Xanax at the little blanket shops by the McDonald's and across the street from the restaurant called the happy fish which also sells drugs. all the places have spots in the back that provide new needles and a safe spot to inject.i have had the same two dealers for ten years no matter what's going on with the cartel stuff. There are tons of other gringos there everyday. I have been to the bunny ranch and a few of the other brothels outside carson city. The girls in Hong Kong are so much hotter and not all mexican either there are girls from everywhere and way more girls too.I have property in todos Santos baja sur about 40miles north of cabo San Lucas. The area has always been safe but the article is wrong in saying there has never been violence in the tourist area of cabo. It was either 2011 or2012 there was a daytime shooting between cops and a dude with a AR or AK.At the mall right at the marina. The heart of the tourist area. If you go back far enough on the archives on this site they even wrote about on here. Also a American kid working with a church or something dissapeard last year from cabo. He was never found.if your not used to Mexico I don't recommend going to the northern spots. The guy did the absolute right thing jumping out of the cab. No matter how many times I go I stay on my toes and stay observant. I have had to pay many bribes driving around. Also had a federal cop take me to jail in San Jose del cabo for not having my passport on me or my vehicle's title which was at my house in todos Santos about a hour away.then he took me to the atm i paid him 100$ the largest bribe i have ever paid by far.I know every single time i go to tj that what I do is high risk and and I could be killed or thrown in LA Mesa for drug possession or getting caught in the little drug dens or for nothing at all. Speaking Spanish helps me a bit. the guys who run the retail drug area have lookouts and cops on the payroll. its very obvious for cops that 10 white punks in there 20's aren't buying sombreros from the same place daily lol.If someone is going to revolution or the drug tiendas for there first time I would recommend first to not do it at all! but if you do go, act like your supposed to be there walk with purpose even if your lost keep walking like you know exactly where your going. And just keep your eyes peeled. I prefer to go during the day and try to go back across before night. If I do stay way past dark I usually will get a room at the caliente casino hotel on the other side of the freeway it's a 5$ taxi from Hong Kong to the other caliente. Or a 25min walk. Never walk over the bridge at night it's extremely dangerous. Even during the day I won't walk across the bridge anymore.don't get blatantly messed up You will instantly become a target to get money from. You will see plenty of other gringos at Hong Kong the casino'sbAnd the drug tiendas. Don't buy drugs from taxi drivers I've done it but it's bad quality and I have heard of many people getting robbed or worse. If you have to get drugs at night the people in the strip clubs are a much safer way to do it. Because the shops in the plaza close at 8pm. Never trust anyone on the street they will offer you everything under the sun and either you won't see your money again or get beat and robbed or get sugar.also know if a cop catches you with stuff they won't always take a bribe and you can go to jail. That's why if you insist on doing anything it's better to just use it at the strip club or the dens in the plaza or put it somewhere a cop won't find it and use at your hotel room.

There are a lot of Americans who go to TJ for sex with young girls. Apparently you may be doing the same. You stated that you are shooting Chiva. I Hope to God you don't have HIV and are having sex with these mexican girls. This should be a possible wake up call for many engaging in this very risky behavior. People have told me they have had bareback sex in TJ including anal at these clubs. Sir, I'm sure you are a very nice guy but needles are dangerous and you might be better off shorting or smoking the Chiva if it's good quality or giving up drugs. Be careful out there bro.

Life has a way of getting revenge on pederasta tourists and whatever gets in the way, I am sure the STDS customers get there were not originated by the "young lolitas".--Even patient 0 is said to be some extravagant monkey lover that got too romantic with the wrong gorilla in Africa and then spread the good news all over the world...

I am an American who lived by the Costco in Cabo for nine years. Cabo was always a beautiful, peaceful place. It changed after Hurricane Odile. Sold the house and moved back 2 years ago. The violence was getting bad, never reported in the news. Now it's everywhere. I love the working people of Mexico and feel for their situation, they are trapped by the cartels and an upper class that does not care.

SIGH - I've been making mental plans to move there. It's just too expensive in the states! Won't be able to retire. Scary for a single woman in the States. Did you live up by Ventanas development? I'd love to communicate w you more. Trying to educate myself on all that I can. It DOES seem to me - from what I read - Cabo has extremely low crime and Americans always say they love it and wished they moved there sooner than they did. I'm thinking about living and working there. I'm a professional singer too - always have day job and singing job, it bought my house in California :) Hoping there are singing jobs in the hotels.

It's bad enough that Mexico is dealing with this drug cartels killings. Now to jeopardize its tourism that would have a devastating impact. The money it' pumps into businesses in such tourist areas are a crucial economic factor for many. Guarantee Mexico will not let this escalate knowing the outcome of such. Military presence will definitely be implemented.

5:37 military presence does not fix mexico's problems, witness Acapulco, tamaulipas, cd Juaareeez, Veracruz, zacatecas, michakan, jalisco, morelos, everywhere the military or federal police go, crime increases for sure. Pack and send 'em all back to El DF and make a biiig beautiful wall around the Estado de Mexico and keep all the mothaphakas inside.

@6:12pm Someone making generalizations again. I don't live under a rock, but I have lived in Mexico for 20 years now and the worst thing that has happened to me was being stopped by local cops in PN for not wearing a seat belt. Sure there are places in Mexico where I would not live or go shopping and out to eat but you can't paint the whole country with one paint brush.

WE have lived and traveled all over Mexico. With the exception of some border states and some grow states, Mexico is exceedingly safe. When I travel around the Cabo area I always feel much safer than I do in most of the major urban areas in the U.S. The shrill about the loss of safety is from folks who are afraid of their own shadow IMHO. By in large, the Mexican people are kind, generous, and opposed to violence. As the government works to improve the jurisprudence system and crush political corruption, things will become much safer. Witness the conversion that has occurred in Columbia!

I have known people who have lived in Cabo for 30th years. They have all moved their families back to the states while they stay to run their businesses. Nobody is running scared, but, what chances would you take with your family? Also don't get me wrong there are plenty of places in the US where I wouldn't live either. What is being reported is a small percentage of what's really going on. Great work BB...God bless the people of Mexico!

I have known people who have lived in Cabo for 30th years. They have all moved their families back to the states while they stay to run their businesses. Nobody is running scared, but, what chances would you take with your family? Also don't get me wrong there are plenty of places in the US where I wouldn't live either. What is being reported is a small percentage of what's really going on. Great work BB...God bless the people of Mexico!

What an interesting response. What about the storekeepers that get extorted and the innocent people being killed? The 43 students? Are they "afraid of their own shadows"? So there is no reason to worry about those outcries?

@ 6:00am.. What conversion?? I'm an American living in Medellin, Col. for 11 yrs.Don't be fooled thinking Colombia is safe. Same shit that happens in Mex still happens in Colombia. Your death can be had for $100 or less and street crime with guns and knives is everywhere here. FYI it's COLOMBIA with an "O"

I live n Mexico and just because you have traveled all over Mexico and not had a problem. You are either taking precautions or you have been lucky. I live on Chihuahua. I have had a friends son shot at a bar for dancing with a Narco's girl unbeknownst to him. A friend shot in applebee's because he would not help the criminals steal from the companies he was protecting. I have lost others too. Many people I know that have businesses are being extorted. If over 90% of the people will not call the police when they have a crime perpetrated against them, that alone tells you something. Soldiers driving all over in trucks with machine guns. You would think this was an occupied country. Driving through gantlets of corrupt police everyday. Surely a police state that harasses the people more than the criminals that pay them. People fortress-ed in their houses. Do not drive on the Sierra's at night in many small pueblos unless you have a death wish. We that live here know where to go before making the trip. Sometimes we take the risk out of necessity.

The good mexican people do not benefit too much from all that "tourism", most of them depend on the occasional tip from the "kindness of strangers", and many times have to deliver the take to their "plasa managers",--never mind what the "tips" are for...

And there you have it folks. Another person has confirmed what very few believe in. (Thanks 10:24) Murders come at a cheap price. What you see in movies is totally unrealistic 2 the actual truth. There's nothing expensive or stylish about it. Sicarios are not well dressed either. 1 minute you're having a good time at a party out in the middle of nowhere. And the next you're playing the adult version of hide and seek with your enemies. Lo bueno es que seguimos al 100. Siempre cuidando. - Sol Prendido

There was a time when los mercados were thriving with tourist. The shopping and bargains were endless. Where you can walk at night enjoy the music and performers at plazas . Where everyone greeted each other with humble and kind gestures. That's the Mexico many knew and loved. Now shop owners are paying extortion money even closing and tourist are weary. Times have changed unfortunately unfavorable to the true beauty of Mexico.Memories are what remain to many . Heartbreaking.......

If you can live and travel all over a country, you probably have more resources than the ordinary Joe who is barricading himself in his home at night. Don't assume your experience of privilege are extended to all citizens of Mexico.

Point well taken. Yes, much of the rebuttal is true however I qualified my experience by limiting it to non growing and non border states. I agree that things have deteriorate, but I will forever resist the Gonga Line of zenophobie's who describe Mexico as a failed state. Everyone takes more precautions, but there are many wonderful families thriving in Mexico. God Bless the Mexican People as they will overcome.

Zenophobe's?? I can when you walked through the tourist district you didn't meet the man who's family sold fruit on the corner for 30 years before the cartels took the street over. How about the peddlers on the beach who were barely making it and now have to pay protection too. How about the boat captain with tears in his eyes, who lived there for 30 years, sent his Mexican family to the states because he fears for their safety. How about all the families torn apart by the senseless violence and chaos. I also lived and travelled in Mexico. Myself and many Americans ate sadden by what is happening to the people. Do not assume that because you stroll through a tourist district you know what the locals are going through. Most of all do not label and assume that Americans are racists or against Mexico. The Americans I know love and are pulling for the people of Mexico, but, the truth must be told and I thank BB for doing that!

Final response t0 5:27. I think we may be saying the same thing. Do not think that my time in Mexico has been a casual "stroll" through a tourist district or that I assume all Americans are racists. We need not paint everyone with the same brush as your comments tend to do. Mexico culture is challenged on many fronts today but, my point is that there continue to be many beautiful and resilent aspects of Mexican culture and society. We need not focus only on the grim challenges that occur daily. I know many families that are thriving and that are not frozen with daily fear while some comments seem to focus on the negative aspects. For me, this is troubling as it becomes a chorus to the bashing by Trump that seems to be in vogue.

Agreed, 'truth must be told' but honest people may differ on what the "truth" is. I think the "truth" with respect to Mexico is evolving daily and is as varied as the people in the country. Many citizens of Mexico are joyful about their country and many people feel blessed that they live in such a wonderful country.

I am Christopher Massad, the son of Mary Massad (Masso) from Tulsa, Oklahoma. My uncle is Elias F. Masso, who lives in Cabo. He owns most of the city. Uncle Eli has been kidnapped by the drug cartel and his whereabouts are unknown. Please help us to find him and rescue him. I understand he has followed this blog for information on the security situation in Mexico. We don't know what to do at this point.

@1:44PM Christopher, send me some more information by email to my address below. Which Cabo? San Lucas?,San Jose? Are there any news reports about his disappearance? I found one comment he made on BB on Nov. 29 and 30, 2016 about being extorted;

12:51 the FBI would agree that the most egregious crimes on the US are inflicted by the richest of the rich and their politician lap dogs on the poorest of the american citizens, and that it is a way of life.

Look under FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR). One of the subheadings is Crime in the United States. I believe the 2015 report on violent crime was 372 per 100,000 persons. There are records on assaults on police, hate crimes, it's all there.

Decriminalize drugs completely and it solves Mexicos problems and the States problems. Immediately release all non violent drug offenders. Which account for over 50% of our prisoners. And get rid of narcotics officers or move them to areas to actually prevent real violent crimes not just solve crimes after they occur. We would have so much extra money we could use most of the extra money to get out of our national debt. And use some money to educate and rehabilite kids and adults about the dangers of drugs. It's amazing how the few countries that have decriminalized drugs have extremely low murder rates and other violent crimes lower hiv&hep-c rates also. But no matter what it will never happen in America because the cia is the biggest drug and gun cartel in the world. And as long as drugs are illegal in America there will be thousands of murders every year and 10times the amount of murders in Mexico because the demand is so high. It's a shame I don't even feel safe in baja sur anymore where I have a property that I love to go surf and relax for a few months every fall/winter. Not only has it become more dangerous but the locals that were mostly guys that just liked to have their beers 5years ago have now become full blown tweakers thieves. In The old days cartels wouldn't sell to the local native population. But all bets are off now. What a shame.

Many U.S. raised Mexican citizens have been forced to go back to a country they don't remember and did not grow up in, and so they fit the profile of an American citizen in every way except citizenship papers. They straddle both cultures and they can blend in with either one when they need to. This possibly was the start of selling to the locals.

Yes, I did. When I lived there my time wasn't spent on the tour district. It was with Comida por Nino and other groups. On weekends we would drive to the Barrio and load our van with children so they could go to the beach and have a meal. We coordinated with the boat captain to take the extra fish to the barrios. We bought gifts with every spare dollar. My partner wad a volunteer school teacher who helped teach English to kids, federales and others. We did not live there to take but give, so we got to know the people. I will never forget our pastor one Sunday when he talked about the difference between Mexico and America when it came to the business and family models and he was dead one. We laughed as he talked about the Mexican business model was often take it or leave it. We paid attention when he said the Mexican family model was one of the best in the world. They were loving, kind families who would give you the shirt off their back and their last bite of food. That's who I want to be, but, often fall way short of. One last point during the Cocaine 80's of Miami, with all of their violence, it took the newspapers and Time magazine for the government to say enough and fix the violence. If it stays hidden, how can you fix it? Miami was broken and until it was publized it didn't get the help it needed. Where is Miami now? The same can happen for the people of Mexico.

So, nothing should be reported if it affects tourism? I lived there for ten years and I am still in daily contact with my friends who have lived there for 30 plus years. The Mexican people deserve to have a voice. If it is in the papers the government will have to act. I am for the people of Mexico. If it weren't not for the brave reporters at BB and other publications they would have no voice. Look at article after article about murdered journalist in Mexico. If it is not a problem why kill the journalists? Great work BB...

Ten years...Our time wasn't spent in the tourist district. We helped with Comida por Ninos. We drove to the barrios on the weekends to pack as many kids as we could into our van to take them to the beach and get some food in their stomachs. We spent our time at the marina or on the phone to find any captain with extra fish we could give to the families. My partner volunt erred as an English teacher to help the kids and families learn English. The Mexican people would give you the shirt off their back or their last bite of food. They are who I pull for. If you deny there is a problem how can you ever come up with a solution?

My friend's mom lives in Cabo .... My friend received a text this evening asking for 20k or her mom would be kidnapped. Her mom is a American Citizen who decided to live her retirement years down there. She can't get a hold of her mother. What can she do? Where could she call? Please help!